Modern Wife

Tag: strawberries

  • Strawberry Tart

    Strawberry Tart

    Ingredients:
    1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
    1/2 cup finely ground almonds
    1/3 cup organic sugar
    1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) organic butter, cut into pieces
    1 egg, free-range and organic
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    3/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
    1 teaspoon lemon juice
    2 pints organic strawberries, hulled and sliced

    Stir together flour, almonds, sugar, lemon rind and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into flour until mixture is the consistency of course crumbs. Whisk together egg and vanilla. Stir into the flour mixture to form a dough. Shape into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

    Ground almonds

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rub wax paper butter covers on baking sheet to grease. Place dough on baking sheet and pat into a 10-inch circle with an elevated edge. Pierce bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake about 25 minutes until slightly browned. Cool completely.

    Melt jam with lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Spread 1/2 cup of jam mixture over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange berries on top, cut sides down. Brush with remaining jam mixture.

    Strawberry Tart Slice

  • Strawberry Ice Cream Premium Recipe

    Strawberry Ice Cream Premium Recipe

    I recently tried this premium recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream from The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home. It’s a lot more complicated than the simple Strawberry Ice Cream recipe I previously posted but it’s so much richer and yields a lot more. Here is my version of the recipe:

    Ingredients:
    2 cups raw organic whole milk
    1 cup raw organic heavy cream
    4 large egg yolks
    3/4 cup organic sugar, separated
    1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
    juice of 1 lemon

    Combine milk and cream in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form until tiny bubbles form around the edge and the mixture reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

    In the meantime, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly whisk in 1/2 cup sugar until well incorporated into a thick pale yellow paste. Slowly pour in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. This is important: The milk should not be poured into the egg mixture quickly or you will get scrambled eggs.

    Return the egg and milk custard to the saucepan and cook over low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Temperature of the custard should reach 185 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not allow the custard to boil.

    Ice Cream Custard

    Pour the custard through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl and let it cool to room temperature. Stir the custard every five minutes until cooled completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

    While the custard is cooling, prepare the strawberries: hull and slice thinly. Combine strawberry slices, lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan. Toss until sugar dissolves and strawberries are well coated. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

    strawberry slices

    Cook the strawberry mixture over medium low heat until strawberries are soft and syrup thickens, about 10 minutes. Transfer the strawberry mixture into a clean bowl and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

    Blend 3/4 of the strawberry mixture with half of the custard. Pour back and whisk into the remainder of the custard.

    Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn until thickened into a soft serve consistency. Add the remaining strawberry mixture just before churning ends. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm.

    Enjoy this luxurious treat!

  • Strawberry Sorbet

    Strawberry Sorbet

    I love strawberries! This year we live close to strawberry farm gardens and we’re able to buy several quarts of sweet strawberries harvested on the same day. In my house, that means ice cream and sorbet! I’ve posted my recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream before. Today I’m posting my recipe for Strawberry Sorbet. Sweet!

    Ingredients:
    1 cup sugar
    1 cup water
    1/4 cup maple syrup
    1 quart fresh strawberries
    Juice of 1 lemon

    Bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer without stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

    Remove stems from strawberries and cut into quarters. Add the juice of 1 lemon to strawberries. You could use a food processor to puree the strawberries. I don’t have a food processor, so I used a potato masher then a blender to make the puree. Some people like to put the puree through a cheesecloth or sieve to take the strawberry seeds out, but I prefer to leave it in for a little crunch.

    Whisk the sugar syrup, strawberry puree and maple syrup together until smoothly combined. Chill for at least an hour.

    Prepare ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Churn the mixture in ice cream maker for 30 minutes or until thickened into a soft-serve consistency. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours to overnight to ripen into a firm sorbet.

    Strawberry Sorbet